'It's dangerous' - Man City star Vivianne Miedema laments 'slow' response to demanding fixture schedule amid continued ACL crisis in women's football

More and more players are speaking out about how demanding football is becoming for the athletes, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri last month even going as far as saying that men's players were getting 'close' to going on strike due to the relentless schedule. Those comments came just days before the Spain star suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Fellow Man City star Miedema had a very similar situation herself in the 2022-23 season while at Arsenal. In a column for Dutch newspaper AD, she wrote about the "worrying pattern" that had made the schedule "simply too full" for the men and the women. A month later, she ruptured her ACL and would have to endure a complex recovery, requiring two surgeries.

Speaking to the Daily Mail this week, Miedema emphasised the point again. "[Change] is way too slow," she said. "It’s something, especially in women’s football, we’ve been shouting about for years. It’s not about not wanting to play the games. People can easily turn around and be like, 'Why do you not want to be a professional footballer? Why do you not want to play more games?' But if you put everything together and look at the physical and the mental health that we are put in, it’s dangerous.

"It’s going to lead to not just physical injuries but also mental health issues. If we don’t start taking care of our players right now, I don’t know when it will be the right time. We see players, left, right and centre falling out with big injuries. They’re probably burned out, they’re not fresh to play football. As football fans, you always want your best players on the pitch. The way football is going right now, that’s not going to happen."

Leah Williamson, Miedema's former Arsenal team-mate, has previous expressed her belief that the demanding schedule is "one of the main reasons" why there is an ACL crisis in women's football. In recent times, several organisations have started to conduct research into why this epidemic is occurring, but Miedema is frustrated that "so many different entities are doing similar or the same instead of putting everyone together and a bigger plan in place".

As someone who has endured the long road to recovery that an ACL injury requires, she knows how difficult it can be and clearly would not wish it on anybody else. "There’s times and games where I feel really good and I definitely feel like I’m up to my level," she explained. "It’s a process of trying to trust your body again. It’s very easy to say 'you’re signed off, you’re fit' - but that’s just on paper. I’ve had set-backs along the way. At times, I do feel like me. Then at other times I know it’s different. Even now, there’s still slight adjustments we need to make."

While research continues, Miedema is eager for those in charge of the schedule to listen to the players. "If you look at FIFA and UEFA trying to fight for as many games as they can, that’s at the disadvantage of players," she said. "Of course we’re always going to be needing research to make that next step but I think for now, a quick and an easy fix is to listen to your players, to put at least two periods of no football within a year and to cap the amount of games that someone can play."